Early in the
1900's when Porter was establishing itself and prospering
quickly a new face arrived in town. A face that belonged to a
man, who's name would soon become world renown. Many things
have not yet been made clear about Emmett Culligan's life in
Porter. History does tell that The Culligan Estate consumed
much of the land around Porter and extended for nearly
one-half mile. The estate included numerous homes, Culligan
Manor being the main house, and two servant houses to the
northwest of the mansion. When Culligan left Porter his estate
was among the largest in Western Minnesota. The Culligan
estate was soon divided and sold. Culligan manor was sold many
times and was considered among one of the most luxurious homes
in Minnesota. Culligan manor was known as the Lakness house
when it burned to the ground as the fire department watched
from a couple blocks away, unable to get through the high
drifts, during a very harsh blizzard in the winter of 1969.
The fire was linked to a faulty electrical wire in the
kitchen, the house had never been rewired since it was built,
It was one of the first houses to be fully wired and contain
switches and fuses. No one was injured in the fire.

Culligan Mansion, Porter, Minnesota. This picture is believed
to have been taken before 1915. You may notice that it was in
the corner of town, the area is still undeveloped, but two
houses have been on the same site since the house burned. The
foundation still remains with the sidewalk leading to it.
Sidewalk also remains from where the back door used to be
leading to the servant houses, (stopped by a crossing town
street) which still remain.

The Parlor
inside the house. In the back you can see the den. This is
the only known picture that remains of the mansion's
interior after the fire in 1969. Notice the elegant French
furniture, hardwood floors and French rugs. All furniture
was deep stained oak or cherry. It is believed if you
would go through the door way on the bottom right corner
of the photo you would be in the sitting room, where the
fireplace and grandfather clock were located and the open
staircase, which was entirely oak, came down from the
second and third floors. Off the right side of the den is
where the dining room was. The dining room was lit by a
crystal chandelier and had a table that seated twelve. The
room off of the dining room was the kitchen. This is where
the back door, which servants used, and the back stairwell
was. The back stairwell also lead to second and third
floors and the basement. The light in the parlor is
the same type that was believed to start the fire in the
kitchen.

Extra notes:

Emmett Culligan started his research on water treatment in his
Porter estate and prototyped the first Culligan Water softener
in Porter. Many people in town recall their parents
telling them about the man who made water good, and then moved
on to start a business of it. Many strange filtering machines
were found in a large garage by a servant house. The discovery
was made in the 1960's when the garage was torn down.

Information on this page
has been compiled through interviews with the current and past
citizens of the Porter community. To contribute to this or
other stories in the Porter History Library please contact the
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